Allergy Apparel shared this story on facebook yesterday giving a nod to teachers who are trained and able to think fast and do what it takes! I don’t want to give too much away so you can read, “Teacher Saves Student’s Life with Epi Pen®“, but it is clear that the teacher leaped into action and a young woman’s life was saved during an anaphylactic reaction. Meet a real life food allergy hero: Carolyn Mossey (she’s on the left).
As we work through the process in our attempt to bring epinephrine into Nevada schools, this type of action is heavy on mind. What flashed across my brain when I read this story was, “aha, a teacher trained in administration of epinephrine was able to easily take action during a true medical emergency”. The teacher had called 911 and was instructed to administer epinephrine. The teacher ran to the office and grabbed another student’s Epi Pen® and used that device since the student experiencing the reaction had not been diagnosed with an allergy and did not have an Epi Pen® prescribed.
Yes, it was a first time reaction at school! Hum, so those statistics of 25% of first time reactions occur at school seem to on the mark? Here is where things get interesting: this school was in Canada and I truly do not know what the epinephrine laws are and if the school also maintained stock epinephrine. Did the teacher simply grab the first Epi Pen® she found? I am was thrilled to hear this teacher did not get caught up in any sort of legal “what if” questions and she just did what was needed to save that young woman. I have many lawyers relatives and friends and while I do understand why laws are made and give you all respect, sometime common sense must prevail. With or without Good Samaritan laws this young woman would have died if the teacher did not take action.
Update as of Nov. 16th, 2012: Here is an article from the same reporting newspaper about other schools not stocking epinephrine, “Life Saving Drug Overlooked”.
Bravo to Carolyn Mossey for saving a student’s life and proving that food allergy education works and is key for survival! I swear I can hear the food allergy crowd roaring right now!
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Not only am I glad that the blog is working well again, but I’m grateful that the student has lived through the food allergy ordeal. The teacher did a wonderful job. I am still ambivalent about the use of epi pens in situations like this because epinepherine is a dangerous drug that can cause more damage than help if not used properly. Please caution your readers & parents who might dose it like candy. Keep cell phones charged & call 911 anytime you think you or your child are experiencing severe allergy symptoms.
Judie, good point about respecting that an Epi Pen is dose of a serious medication. The teacher was under phone instruction by 911 to administer, but Judie is right. ALWAYS CALL 911 and follow their trained medical instructions!
I feel better after reading your follow up post, Caroline!! I’m glad that the child & teacher survived the event. The information gained will benefit others in the future.